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亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 pioneer journalist

Sidney Godwin, 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 pioneer newsman, was born in England in 1886 and immigrated to Canada in 1907.
18147387_web1_Godwin
Sidney Godwin.

Sidney Godwin, 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 pioneer newsman, was born in England in 1886 and immigrated to Canada in 1907.

Godwin must have had a taste for adventure, because in 1922 he decided to set up a newspaper in 亚洲天堂 Lake - a village that at that time had a population of less than 150 and even fewer kilometers of road. A small man (he reportedly weighed 110 pounds and stood less than 5鈥8鈥), he arrived in town with a heavy printing press so ancient that it was lever operated.

Andy Anderson and Dick O鈥橦ara arrived at the railway station and helped Godwin move the press to a shed that stood behind what is now the Tweedsmuir Hotel. After clearing hay from the building, Godwin proceeded to publish 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥檚 first newspaper, the Observer, while Andy Brown and Taylor Jensen set about constructing more permanent quarters for him and his ancient press.

The Observer鈥檚 new home (and Godwin鈥檚, as the structure had living quarters upstairs) was located on the present site of FYIdoctors on Highway 16. A teetotaller who had once studied for the ministry and often delivered Sunday sermons in 亚洲天堂 Lake, Godwin had boundless energy and reputation for getting things done. He loved gardening (his summer home at Imeson鈥檚 beach was surrounded by peonies, mimosa, and perennials), taught local children to play the violin and trombone, performed at concerts, read encyclopedias, and spoke several languages. A confirmed socialist, he also dabbled in politics from time to time.

When 亚洲天堂 Lake was incorporated as a village in 1923, Godwin became its clerk-treasurer. He later became its assessor, tax collector, secretary of the court of revision, and returning officer. Council meetings were held in his office on Highway 16.

Sidney and his wife Kathleen clearly had a sense of humour. When the couple鈥檚 first child began walking, she was the darling of Sam Marsh and Trygarn Pelham Lyster (Barney) Mulvany. The two men fed the toddler so many sweets that Ms. Godwin hung a sign around the child鈥檚 neck that read: 鈥淧lease do not feed candy.鈥 Thereafter, Mulvany and Marsh took the girl to Jim Locke鈥檚 kitchen and fed her soup.

By 1933, Sidney鈥檚 ongoing production of the Observer had left him with lead poisoning. He sold his press, shipped it to Prince Rupert, and assembled it there for its new owner. He and his family then moved to Vancouver so Kathleen could attend university, though they returned to Nadina in 1935, where Kathleen taught school.

The couple eventually made their home in Courtenay. Sidney died in 1972 at the age of 85.

2018 Michael Riis-Christianson and the Lakes District Museum Society

18147387_web1_Sidney-Godwin--wife-Kathleen
Sidney and Kathleen Godwin.


About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

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